Couple thoughts on cameras: First, full disclosure, I'm not a pro of any kind, just an enthusiastic amateur photo buff.
Second, you titled the thread "Investing in a quality camera" so I'm assuming that means you are at least open to the possibility of buying a DSLR+lenses, so I'm gonna ramble on about them for a minute.
DSLRs are nice because you have more room to grow. If you get a DSLR, I'd recommend either Canon or Nikon, as others have mentioned. The other thing to know about DSLRs is that the quality of the glass available in the lenses is so much higher than any other type of camera you're going to buy (the obvious exception being rangefinders like Leica). So buying a DSLR means that once you've invested some money into a couple of high quality lenses, those lenses will last for years and give you thousands of tack sharp photos.
If you get into photography, you will probably find yourself cycling through cameras every few years, but the lenses tend to hang around. I have a Nikon 70-200mm f2.8 VR, a very nice lens, that I got as a graduation present from college almost ten years ago, and it takes incredible pictures. In that same space of time, I've had 3 different DSLRs, each of which was orders of magnitude better than the previous one. In essence, the curve in the improvement of the technology has been pretty steep in the DSLRs, but it is much lower in the lenses that these cameras use. Good quality lenses will depreciate less over say, 5 years, than a DSLR will. Just something to be aware of.
The other upside of a DSLR is that (this one is just my opinion) if you want to learn how to take good photographs, this type of camera is going to facilitate that much more than a point and shoot will. A DSLR has controls that are designed so that the camera can be used in Manual, Shutter priority, or Aperture priority much easier than other types of cameras. Learning to operate your camera on the Manual setting will make you choose the shutter speed and aperture of each frame, and learning to make the right choices about these two things will improve your skill with the camera more than anything else (just my opinion again). A camera that makes this process feel natural with all the buttons and dials right under your fingertips makes the process more intuitive.
However,if you just want to take some pictures now and then, and not deep dive into photography, then a DSLR is not a great investment.
Weight is also a consideration, DSLR gear gets heavy real quick. I have a whole camera backpack full of crap, plus the tripod, and it all must weigh 15-20 lbs. When I go hunting, I take a Panasonic Lumix LX7 which is a compact but very good camera. The image quality is nowhere near as good as my Nikon DSLR, but it also only weighs 10 oz and fits in a pocket.
The Lumix has manual control settings, but I don't think much of them, and tend to use it in Program mode most of the time. If someone wanted to buy their first camera and was interested in learning how to take quality photos, I would not steer them towards this camera, because it does not facilitate actually learning how to take good pictures. But if they just wanted a nice camera, I'd put it near the top of the list.
I hope this helps you sort through your decision making process a bit. Photography is a great hobby. Have fun.
